How Do I Become a Pediatric Oncologist?
It takes compassion, desire and commitment to become a pediatric oncologist, since the path to this pediatric subspecialty, which specializes in treating children with cancer, is long and arduous. People will need to commit to about 14 years of study, beginning with undergraduate college work, to become specialists in this area. After college and medical school, a doctor continues to pursue this career with a residency and fellowship in pediatrics and then pediatric oncology, prior to becoming board certified.
High school students who want to become a pediatric oncologist can begin working toward this goal by studying hard in math and science. If it’s possible to take calculus and trigonometry and to study biology and chemistry, these are excellent preparation. Students in high school should be prepared to major in pre-med or in a science like biology, chemistry, microbiology, or biochemistry. An undergraduate degree in college should include all studies necessary to pass high on the Medical College Admission Test, which in many regions is one of the main criteria for admission to medical school.
It should be noted that some regions construct their medical school and undergraduate studies differently. In the UK, medical school and undergraduate studies are combined into a single program. In places like the US and Canada, people complete a bachelor’s degree first before being admitted to medical school.
Once in medical school, the student may learn more about the specialties, which can help a person decide if the desire still exists to become a pediatric oncologist. While studies in medical school will be more general in scope, it’s not a bad idea to keep learning more about the field. Most students complete an internship year, and it’s during this time they need to decide whether they want to specialize. If a person does want to become a pediatric oncologist, he will apply to pediatric residencies, which take about three years to complete.
Once a person has completed a pediatric residency and become a board certified pediatrician, the next step to become a pediatric oncologist is to gain admission to a fellowship program that trains in this specialty. It generally takes strong recommendations from instructors in the pediatric program to compete for fellowships. Fellowships in pediatric oncology may take three or four years depending on program. After completion, a person takes whatever exams are required and gets board certification to practice as a pediatric oncologist.
There are specialties that some doctors avoid because they have unfortunately high patient mortality rates. Oncology is one of these specialties. People with emotional resiliency and empathy is of extraordinary use in this field, but the work can be challenging, and no doctor wants to preside over cases where children do not make it. At the same time, this specialty changes constantly, and many doctors look to it with optimism and hope that future treatment will bring cure to every child with cancer. Some pediatric oncologists both treat patients and perform research that may one day accomplish this goal.
Written by Tricia Ellis-Christensen
